This disclosure is in the field of firearms and, more particularly, to an ambidextrous bolt stop for use with a firearm.
Many automatic firearms include magazines holding multiple rounds of ammunition. In many semi-automatic and automatic firearms, a bolt reciprocates over the magazine with each firing, unloading fired casings from a chamber when moving rearwardly and stripping and chambering a new round from the magazine during the reciprocal forward movement. Many firearms include a bolt stop (also known as a bolt catch) that holds the bolt in the rearward position when the magazine is empty (so there is no round to strip and chamber). Retaining the bolt in a rearward position permits the empty magazine to be removed and replaced with a loaded magazine (or in other firearms with fix magazines, permits additional rounds to be loaded into the magazine). Once a loaded magazine is present, the firearm can be prepared for firing by releasing the bolt catch, resulting in a round being chambered. This is well known in the art.
The M16/AR15 platform is a well-known semi-automatic/automatic firearm in wide military and civilian use. The lower receiver of the M16/AR15 includes a bolt stop release button positioned on the left side of the firearm. While the left side positioning of the bolt stop release button is convenient for right-handed operators, the left side positioning can be awkward for left-handed operators. The left side positioning can also be inconvenient for right-handed operators who might switch there shooting style based on combat conditions.
The object of this disclosure is to provide a right side bolt stop release button that works in concert with the left side release button to actuate the bolt stop and provide ambidextrous functionality. While the improvements disclosed below are made to the M16/AR15 platform, these improvements could also be used to improve other firearms.